Health Care Insurance, Employers

[BadgerMan]

This is really bugging me. What do you think about this?
My wife and I both work full time and have access to pretty decent health insurance plans. Historically, her plans have been more affordable (the premium co-pay) than my employer’s offerings so I have opted out and my coverage has been through her employer (denoted as ________ in the following letter).

Recently, the VP of Human Resources from her company sent the following letter to employers in the area (mine included) explaining their plans to add a surcharge for covering spouses who have the option to acquire coverage elsewhere. I think this is just plain dirty and may become a trend. I suspect that when other employers see this happening, they will follow suit.

To Whom it May Concern:

Effective January 1, 2007, the cost of coverage under _______’s plan will significantly increase for the spouses of _______ employees who have health insurance coverage available from their employers. Your employee (our employee’s spouse) previously declined coverage under your company’s group health plan. They declined coverage under your plan because at the time they could have enrolled, they were covered as primary under the _______ group health plan as the spouse of an _______ employee.

Under the terms of _______’s plan, an employee’s spouse who is entitled to elect coverage under his or her employer’s health plan but does not elect such coverage must pay a monthly, after-tax surcharge of $100 in order to remain in _______’s plan. This surcharge of $1,200 per year is in addition to the monthly employee contribution for health plan coverage. Therefore, your employee’s current coverage costs will be increased significantly effective January 1, 2007 if they are not covered under your company’s group health plan as of that date.

This significant increase in the cost of health insurance benefits provided to spouses under _______’s health plan will effectively terminate the ability of most spouses to participate in _______’s plan beginning January 1, 2007, by pricing them out of coverage under the plan. This is, in effect, a loss of health insurance coverage. As your employee, who is otherwise eligible for coverage under your company’s plan, this effective loss of coverage should permit them to elect a special enrollment in your group plan with primary coverage beginning January 1, 2007 (the date on which coverage will effectively terminate for them under _______’s plan). They should also be permitted to change any previous cafeteria plan elections that may be affected by this special election of coverage under your group health plan.

Your prompt cooperation in assisting with your employee’s entry into your plan is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

:pissed:

 

[cnielse5]

Your wife doesn't happen to work for TRW automotive does she? They just did the same thing, and it made a lot of mad employees.

 

[Chili]

So if you are employed they punish your wife's offered benefit package? but if you were unemployed you would get the coverage without a surcharge?

 

[BadgerMan]

Your wife doesn't happen to work for TRW automotive does she? They just did the same thing, and it made a lot of mad employees.

No she doesn't. She does work for quite a large corporation though.

It does not surprise me that her employer was not the first to do this though as the HR people all read the same trade magazines and attend the same conferences.

 

[BadgerMan]

So if you are employed they punish your wife's offered benefit package? but if you were unemployed you would get the coverage without a surcharge?

Exactly.

 

[Chili]

I would think that there has to be some grounds that this is discriminatory. Unless coverage is offered on a position by position basis I can't see how legally they could do this.

 

[BadgerMan]

I can't see how legally they could do this

My personal opinion is that because of the tight job market (especially here in Michigan) that there is a perverse form of competition developing whereby employers are driving up health insurance premium costs (to the employees) in an attempt to get individuals (like spouses) to opt out of their plans. If it was an employee’s market and employers were competing for talent, this may not be happening.

Yeah, I kinda wonder about the legalities too but I am sure they have their back sides covered.

 

[FruDaddy]

It looks to me like a plan by the insurance company to get out of providing low cost coverage to you. It kind of makes me wonder if your wife and TRW automotive use the same provider.

 

[XRpredator]

You are not alone, man. Insurance rates are going through the roof. My agent, who I consider something of a bud, hates coming by anymore because it's always to deliver bad news. We are getting "lucky" this year with "only" a 5% increase.

hoo-freakin'-ray

 

[oldguy]

when I was working I carried the ins for the family plan and my wife opted out of her companies plan but if this had happened to us it still would have been cheaper to continue on a family plan by one of us and pay the $100 surcharge. I do know that two married couples I worked with had single person plans because they had no children and the plans added together were cheaper then a family plan.
I am wonderring also how they are going to cover any dependent children? If your wife continues a family plan as her spouse you are coverred or are they going to demand she drop to a single person plan and you must pick up the kids?

 

[Green Horn]

Where's those threads about dirtbiking w/o insurance? :) I think they could be tied together somehow. ;)

 

[BadgerMan]

We are getting "lucky" this year with "only" a 5% increase.

hoo-freakin'-ray

Yeah, that was typical for us in the past. However, if I stay in her plan with her and the kids, it will cost us an additional $1200.00 per the letter quoted above.

Now………after doing the math, if I elect to take the coverage from my employer, it will cost me about $1100.00/year. That includes the premium co-pay and expected co-pays resulting from routine visits to my doctor and chiropractor. Right now with her plan, there is no co-pay for these visits.

I will probably elect coverage from my employer since her plan is a health care fund. If I am not in her plan then I will not subtract from her “deductible” which will leave more money in the plan for her and the kids.

In the end we are essentially taking a $1100.00/year pay cut. It is certainly not going to break us but these things tend to add up quick. Heck, our transportation and home heating costs have doubled in the last couple years too. I really feel for the two income families where both partners are making $10.00/hour or less.

Yep........yeeee-freakin'-haw!

 

[OldTimer]

I work for the railroad and we got FREE health care for years and years, but after the airlines (who were facing bankruptcy) started the ball rolling, our industry (facing record profits) decided to follow suit saying that huge increases in premiums had driven cost to nearly $1,000/month per employee. Then they back charged us for insurance that they had already paid during the previous contract. Had I known we were going to be charged for our FREE insurance I'd have switched my wifes coverage for about half of what the railroad is charging us. Now if I drop coverage the RR will give me $100.00/month. WHAT!? They keep $900.00 in saved premiums and give me $100.00. Then there are the retired military guys working for the RR who get free insurance through the government, but who also must give up $900.00/month worth of compensation.
I'll bet if we held their feet to the fire about passing their savings on to the employees who drop coverage, the $1,000/month figure would drop significantly. I also think I could get much better coverage for way less than that.

 

[oldguy]

when I retired in June we looked at keeping my coverage thru the County until we saw the retired employees cost for the family plan was $1450. No way I could afford that and still sleep in a house and eat. The county claims that is just a portion of what they pay out monthly for the coverage- of course the county's insurance is self funded so they can claim any premium amount they want.

 

[Patman]

Here's another lile idi. Ou company in he pas paid 100 o he employee's insuance cos o seeal yeas. hen ou o he lue he insuance rep ells he presiden "You can do ha." o course he asked why and he rep said "ecause we'll have o aise you raes if you do, i's our policy." So after checking around we ind ou mos insuance companies hae a similar rule for companies our size. Screwed up but true.

 

[oldguy]

Here's another lile idi. Ou company in he pas paid 100 o he employee's insuance cos o seeal yeas. hen ou o he lue he insuance rep ells he presiden "You can do ha." o course he asked why and he rep said "ecause we'll have o aise you raes if you do, i's our policy." So after checking around we ind ou mos insuance companies hae a similar rule for companies our size. Screwed up but true.

new keyboard Pat :whoa: or PWI :nener:

 

[XRpredator]

new keyboard Pat :whoa: or PWI :nener:

his insurance company wouldn't pay to put his fingers back on

 

[CR Swade]

Hmm, self-employed and pay nearly $4K per year for good family plan insurance which isn't tax deductible...I wouldn't mind $2500/year a bit.

FWIW, even the crappy insurance for small companies was over 3K. If I was working for somebody, I could still go out and buy BC&BS for under $160 month on my own. Check into insuring yourself instead of using the company plan

 

[dirt bike dave]

Hmm, self-employed and pay nearly $4K per year for good family plan insurance which isn't tax deductible...I wouldn't mind $2500/year a bit.

FWIW, even the crappy insurance for small companies was over 3K. If I was working for somebody, I could still go out and buy BC&BS for under $160 month on my own. Check into insuring yourself instead of using the company plan

Sounds like Kansas has much lower health insurance costs than other states. You can't touch any decent family plan in California for $4,000 per year.

I think $10,000 - $15,000 per year would get you in the ball park for a 'decent' plan for a family of 4. Mediocre plans might be $7,000 - $10,000.

 

[CR Swade]

Well, its just my wife and I, the kids go through w/ their stepdad's insurance. Those rates are non HMO, low deductible BC&BS...basically the same rates through the midwest here (KS, MO, NE)

Man its tough to do anything cheap in Cali. For 15K you are better off just buying major medical and skipping the regular doc visits/prescriptions

 

[bsmith]

My wife has her own plan, which is $260 a Month, $3120 a year with a large deductable, 4 years ago when we started it was $190 a month with $500 MMdeductable. Now $260 and $2500 MMD. Last 3 years they have canceled our Policy and reopen, we have to chose a new plan with higher deductables to offset the spike in monthly premium.
When we started it was a family plan at $650 a month that was $5070 4 years ago. Now it would be almost $9240.

I have insurance through my employer, yet hardly anyone here excepts it!

Supposidly here in WA we have the highest Insurance rates in the country because we also have the most malpractice lawsuits, and therefore the highest malpractice Insurance aswell! Of my wifes Dr's I've known 2 Dr's go bankrupt, 1 moved to Idaho, 1 moved to Texas, and one to the VA.

With all that said, without it I would have been declared bankrupt, and currently be living on wellfare~!

 

[Solid State]

FWIW, even the crappy insurance for small companies was over 3K. If I was working for somebody, I could still go out and buy BC&BS for under $160 month on my own. Check into insuring yourself instead of using the company plan

Wow your insurance is way cheap. My self employed family plan went to $1633/month with BC/BS (heavy emphassis on the BS!). We've had this thread before and others were paying similar to this. It always kills me to hear people complain about $3K/year policies!

I gave up self employment (don't ask about the Federal Self Employed Tax hit either) and took a regular job again. Saved over $12K/year just on premiums and up to a couple hundred/month on copays and RX - took a big cut in pay though. Don't complain about cheap insurance.

 

[CR Swade]

Just got our policy updates for the new year...went up less than $20 month.

 

[Solid State]

Just got the fill-in from HR on the health insurance. Went up 31% !!!!!